Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a great German WWII Era Wehrpaß Identification Book named to Johannes Jor….., (it looks like last name begins with Jor and ends with r, but we were not able to decipher the middle portion) who was born in 1897 & served in the 93rd Infantry Regiment from 1915-1918. He was called back into service in 1939 and took part in the Polish Campaign and occupation before being captured as a Prisoner of War (POW). The booklet has an ink-stamp in French/German dated 1947, instructing him to remove any Wehrmacht clothing he had while a prisoner of war, and authorized him to return home. The swas on the front of the booklet has been scribbled out, as was sometimes done post-war.

During the NSDAP period many new types of identification were required, both for civilians and military personnel, both as a method of control and to help protect vital parts of the German war machine. These books often recorded quite a bit about the owners life, much more than just their basic information. These Wehrpaß identification books were required beginning in 1935 with the beginning of conscription in NSDAP-ruled Germany, and all eligible males were required to get one. This was one such individual, and as part of the ID being issued, his service history in WWI was researched, and is listed inside the book. The front cover is also clearly marked heer on the bottom, indicating he was evaluated for service in the Army.

The Wehrpass was first issued to him in 1939, and his first regimental assignment appears to have been with the 1st Landwehr. There is a photograph of him as well as is standard. He was released from the POW Camp on August 11th, 1947. The Wehrpass is in great shape with many stamps throughout, although there is a large chunk that’s empty as he was a POW for so many years. The Wehrpass comes with two small strips of paper with partial translations of some of the information.

This translation reads: Man born 1897.. Served in 93rd Infantry Regiment 1915-1918. Called to duty in 1939. Took part in the Polish Campaign and occupation, book has inkstamp in French/German dated 1947, instructing him to remove any Wehrmacht clothing he had while a prisoner of war, and authorized him to return home. There is much more research to be done on this piece by someone who can accurately read the writing.

This is a fantastic piece that requires much more research, comes ready for further research and display!

Of note: some of the writing in this book is in Kurrentschrift, an older form of Germanic script writing, which is why the all the "u" letters are written as "ŭ". In this script the lowercase "n" and "u" are identical, so the latter gets the arc shaped mark over it. This is not indicative of an umlaut or other diacritical marking.